Flood Insurance Super-Storm To Hit Oct. 1, Premiums To Surge

New Flood Insurance Rates and Map Changes To Drown Homeowners With Premium Surge, Subsidies To End

I was recently working on a sale transaction in Wareham which went under agreement with no issues. As is common in that coastal area, the property is in Flood Zone with a subsidized flood insurance annual premium of around $3,000 which the buyer was willing to live with. However, during the underwriting process, the lender advised that under new federal flood insurance map and rate changes, the property was not only in a higher flood risk elevation zone, but would also lose its subsidy upon a sale, with a new premium running a whopping $55,000 — a 1700% increase! Needless to say, the sale sank to the bottom of Buzzards Bay, and the current owner is left with a significantly devalued property.

The culprit for this storm surge is the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act, which was passed after Hurricane Katrina. Under the new law, many homeowners will grapple with a double-whammy of costs — first, because their homes are no longer above base flood elevation, and second, the Act will eliminate the grandfathering of properties that were allowed to use old flood-risk data, and will end subsidies for certain types of properties. According to most projections, flood insurance premiums have the potential to increase by 25% per year for many, and for some, exponentially — like my Wareham client. Furthermore, many additional homes have been placed in the high-risk flood zone for the first time, and if the owners have mortgages, they will be required to buy flood insurance.

According to the Boston Globe, the changes will have widespread impact along coastal communities. For example, in Marshfield, roughly 1,500 homes are located in the expanded flood zone, and in Scituate, about 500, according to local officials. Coastal towns have been scrambling over the last several months to assist affected homeowners and petition Congress and FEMA to help, mostly to no avail.

Property owners have the right to appeal their inclusion in the flood zone, but they have barely more than six weeks left to do so. The deadline is Oct. 17 throughout the county. For an appeal to be successful, the owner would have to prove, with professional documentation, that the elevation is different from what the maps indicate. That’s a high burden and very costly to boot.

This situation has real potential to drown listings and sales along the affected coastal areas. I’ll be monitoring this looming storm in the weeks ahead. Stay dry!

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Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. is a Massachusetts real estate attorney who helps people buy, sell, finance and litigate disputes involving Massachusetts real estate. Rich is the Chair of the Boston Bar Association's Title & Conveyancing Committee. For more information about him, click here. You can contact Attorney Vetstein at rvetstein@vetsteinlawgroup.com or 508-620-5352.